/ 5 May 2006

Security employers ‘shun’ meeting

A meeting between striking security guards and their employers scheduled for Friday has been postponed to next week, the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) said.

CCMA head of operations Nersan Govender said the meeting was postponed after a request by one of the parties.

Ronnie Mamba, spokesperson for the South African Transport and Allied Workers’ Union (Satawu), said the meeting had to be postponed because the employers did not arrive.

”The employers say they can only be available for a meeting next Tuesday. It’s worthless holding a meeting today [Friday] if one of the main parties is not there,” said Mamba.

”The attitude by security employers towards the CCMA suggests that they are not interested in seeing the end of this strike action. After confirming their participation in today’s meeting, employers decided to change their minds in the last minute, saying they are no longer available.”

Meanwhile, Minister of Labour Membathisi Mdladlana said the sudden decision by security employers to shun the scheduled talks is a matter of grave concern.

”What I find strange is that these employers are rejecting the CCMA’s offer to resolve the dispute. How then are they hoping to resolve the strike other than through mediation and arbitration?”

Mdladlana said the employers’ decision to challenge the legality of the strike at the Labour Appeal Court does not address the dispute and its causes.

”Even if they were to fire all striking workers the dispute would remain. I once again call for sanity to prevail and for employers to swallow their pride and go back to negotiations,” he said.

Satawu members have been on strike since March 23. They are demanding an 11% wage increase. On April 1, 14 minority unions accepted a wage increase of 8,3%.

On Friday the 14 unions, after meeting in Pretoria to discuss the situation in the sector as well as plans to set up a bargaining council, said they will attend the CCMA meeting next week.

”We have received a mandate from our members to attend the meeting as we all strongly believe that the only way to resolve the situation is around the table,” said Dennis George, secretary general of the Federation of Unions of South Africa (Fedusa).

”As organised labour we feel it would be a good thing for all of us to get together and discuss the situation. I have spoken to Cosatu [Congress of South African Trade Unions] president Zwelinzima Vavi about this and I’m currently waiting for feedback from him.”

George said unions also see the need for a bargaining council in the sector to ease future negotiations.

”We have already started on forming a statutory bargaining council … We have drawn up a constitution, which the employers have signed, and have put in place the verification process regarding the number of members each union has.”

On Friday afternoon the South African National Security Employers’ Association was still unavailable for comment. — Sapa